In the Spotlight | Carl Rushworth

Carl Rushworth has enjoyed an impressive season with Swansea City, but the 22-year-old knows his career could have worked out very differently.

The on-loan Brighton and Hove Albion stopper reveals how he feared his football dreams were over after being released by Huddersfield Town as a youngster, leading to spells working as a waiter, on a ski slope and in insurance before joining Halifax Town.

Rushworth also talks about turning down the chance to join Manchester United - the club he supports - in order to join Brighton, and why the sacrifices his parents made for him are a huge source of motivation.

Carl Rushworth may not have had what it takes for a career in insurance, but Swansea City fans are certainly enjoying the security of having the young goalkeeper between the sticks.

The 22-year-old has enjoyed an excellent 2023-24 campaign on loan in SA1, and his own chant has been getting a regular airing for months now after the stopper proved an immediate hit with the Jack Army.

It’s something Rushworth greatly appreciates given there was a time not so long ago when he feared his dream of being a footballer had been extinguished.

Having played grassroots football for Crossley Juniors FC, despite his parents’ sport of choice being rugby league, Rushworth was picked up by Huddersfield Town at under-eight level and remained there through to the age of 16.

When it came to the decision about whether he would get a scholarship, the England Under-21 international admits the prospect of being shown the exit door had simply not crossed his mind.

So, when that unexpected news was delivered, it was a shock to the system.

“It was a really tough time for me because it almost felt like you were guaranteed to get that next contract, so I was looking beyond that first meeting. I was just thinking ‘next season, I wonder what I’ll be doing at this club’,” he says.

“So to hear that they were letting me go; my heart sank and I came out of the meeting and hugged my mum and I got a bit tearful. After that I went and had trials at other clubs.

“I went to Bradford, Chesterfield and Rochdale and got a ‘no’ from them too, so I kind of felt like I was in a downward spiral and everything was going wrong.

“I was actually having meetings at my school then because I was thinking about sixth form. I thought I wasn’t going to make a career out of football, so I had to have that back-up.

“My mum and dad were massive on me having that, just incase things did not work out. Going into those sorts of meetings and conversations that I never thought I’d have to go into was quite tough for me."

“Fortunately, Halifax got involved, they told me if it did not work with the other three clubs they would have a space for me. It was a 15- to 20-minute bus journey from home and they would also help me do my studying there as well as playing in the youth team.”

It was during his time with the Shaymen in non-league that Rushworth started working jobs alongside his football and studies, still unsure what his long-term prospects in the game would be.

A big grin spreads across his face when he recalls some of the roles he tried his hand at, and some of the mistakes he made along the way.

“I had a few jobs, I’m not sure I was any good at them, to be honest,” he says.

“I was working in a nightclub doing glass collecting, I wasn’t old enough to work behind the bar!

“I worked at a ski slope, they also had a café across the road where I was a waiter.

“I wasn’t very good. On my first shift I went and took the orders from the tables and gave them to the kitchen, but when they rang the bell for service I had no idea what it meant.

“I didn’t do anything, so I think a few people didn’t get their food or their food was pretty cold by the time they got it. I was back on the ski slope pretty soon after that!

“The last job I had was in insurance. I was working on the phones, but my computer never actually worked.

“I was there for two months just listening to people on the phones. I didn’t actually do anything, I was there just writing some stuff up and then listening in on one of my co-worker’s calls just to do my learning.

“I never actually had to do anything. It was quite an easy job for me, although that might have been deliberate because I’m not sure how I’d have done trying to sell insurance to people.

“The glass collecting was a good one though, I was there with a few of my mates but I was working until four or five in the morning. It was enjoyable.”

Rushworth was grateful for the opportunity offered by Halifax, and his efforts were soon noticed by former Crystal Palace midfielder Jamie Fullarton, who was then in charge of the Yorkshire club.

Some fine showings against high-profile clubs in the FA Youth Cup also boosted Rushworth’s confidence, as well as other club’s awareness of his talents.

Before long, he had a trio of trials lined up with Premier League clubs; Manchester United, Arsenal and Brighton.

Rushworth may have been a boyhood United fan, but it was his time on the south-coast that made the biggest impression on him. The decision, in the end, was an easy one.

“It was incredible, but I have to thank Halifax, first and foremost. They were my last chance, my final option. I don’t know what would have happened without them,” he says.

“The FA Youth Cup game against Sunderland was big for me, I felt like it went well, there were a few scouts there and just a few days after that my world changed.

“I went down to Brighton and saw their facilities, then Manchester United. It’s amazing just seeing it all and walking past some of the players around the training ground.

“I was thinking ‘I was just at the college two days ago and now I’m down here’.

“I had some time at Arsenal, too. It flipped my world upside down and I loved every minute of it. I was exhausted by the end of the two weeks, though.

“But when it came to deciding, I had spent the most time at Brighton. I went there first and absolutely loved it.

“I feel as if the club is very much like Swansea, there is very much a family feel to it. They were really good with me from the start and really enticed me into staying.

“I think it was the right decision for me to take and I am loving my time there now, I really enjoy going back there at the end of the season, pre-season and continuing my development there.

“When I was really young, I was a Manchester United supporter. I had everything, all the wallpaper and that, just a typical boy’s room when I was younger.

“When I was on those trials my mum was saying they wanted me to do what was best for me but Brighton was miles away and United was just down the road.

“They said they’d love me to be close but they completely understood. I think with my Dad being around when I was playing against these teams for Huddersfield, he knew that these teams could be a risk.

“He just wanted me to feel like I was at a home away from home. Once I finished that two weeks, I said to Brighton that I wanted to go there.”

Moving to Brighton at the age of 17 was quite an adjustment for Rushworth as he grappled with the inevitable challenges of the first time living away from home.

But, following a timely break back with his family over the Christmas period, he soon settled and has worked his way through the ranks.

“I found it tough in the first couple of weeks,” he admits.

“It was a new place, new people and a whole new environment. I wasn’t just right at home, like I always had been.

“At the start I was with a host family and another player, which was good because I could build that relationship with him outside of football which made it a lot easier.

“The host family took me in and helped me out whenever they could. Brighton’s staff, particularly the goalkeeper coach, really took me under his wing and he became almost like a southern dad to me. He made it a lot easier for me.

“I moved down at the start of December and the under-18s got two weeks off for Christmas, so I only had two weeks and then I was home for a week or two.

“That was ideal timing and going back down I was a lot more prepared. My mum realised everything was okay, so she was relaxed and it was only up from there.”

Part of Rushworth’s development has been his loan spells with Worthing, Walsall and Lincoln City, prior to his current stint with the Swans.

He has adjusted, adapted and performed to a high level as he has worked his way up the football ladder, but acknowledges that spell with Worthing in non-league was one he particularly enjoyed given the challenges of being a young keeper in a competitive environment where no quarter was asked or given.

“It was good for me to be exposed to that early,” he says.

“Those loans are key for any player developing, especially as a goalkeeper too because the gametime is massive and getting used to receiving some stick off opposition fans and things like that.

“They’re factors that you don’t really think about or see when you think of a footballer. It was the perfect loan for me because Worthing was literally the next town over from where Brighton would train.

“I’d train throughout the week with Brighton, train one night a week with Worthing and then play at the weekend or Tuesday nights.

“I was skinny and I think I had a skinhead at the time. Centre-backs would think ‘put it on him and see what he’s about’.

“I got battered a lot but it only toughened me up and got me used to the life of a footballer.

“This is the environment and you still see it. I think it’s just made it easier for me now.

“I do enjoy that side of the game, it gets the blood flowing and I love that challenge. It keeps me focused.”

And what of Rushworth’s latest loan spell?

The stopper acknowledges it was not an easy start to life in south Wales as the Swans endured a difficult opening to the season.

But he feels encouraging strides have been made under head coach Luke Williams, and he has relished the former Notts County manager’s approach.

“We’ve had the change of manager and I’ve loved the last couple of months under the new gaffer," he said.

“He goes into so much detail with me personally. He says ‘these are the positions I want you to take up, these are the options for you’, then it’s down to me to make the right decision.

“But I love that, I love the detail because it’s like the detail I get back at my parent club. It’s perfect for me to use the end of the season to kick on with that and learn as much as possible before I go back to Brighton at the end of the season.

“It’s about getting comfortable playing under pressure like that. It’s a big change and it can be uncomfortable at the start but you can see we are improving.”

Rushworth has made some eye-catching stops over the course of the campaign, most notably the double save in the away win at Plymouth with the Swans winning 2-1 at the time, and a magnificent stop as he tipped a low effort onto the post against Leicester City.

But, when it comes to assessing his form, he is typically humble.

“At the moment, out of 10 I’d say I’m about a six, somewhere around there,” he says.

“I aim for every week to have a solid seven out of a 10 performance. I don’t have to be looking for things, Marge (head of goalkeeping Martyn Margetson) says that to me too – ‘don’t go looking for things, the ball will come to you. There’s no need for you to go searching for it.’

“Then you can have a steady seven out of 10 game, and if you make any big saves that’s where you get your eights and nines.

“That’s what I go into each game saying, just try to be consistent, get that seven out of 10 and then hopefully if I get that opportunity to make the big save I can make it. It’s about doing the job that is required of you.

“To be fair, the amount of times the lads have put their bodies on the line, I’m just there diving for no reason because they have blocked it anyway! It just makes my job easier.”

And what of the chant in tribute to his abilities between the sticks? Rushworth admits his parents have enjoyed hearing it at games, and that he loves the atmosphere generated by the Jack Army.

“It's nice, I like all the chants. I like to sing along in my head,” he says with a laugh.

“It sounds funny but it keeps me concentrated as much as I can. I quite enjoy it.

“My parents have noticed it. They’ve been to a few games already, it’s just difficult with the games being four or five hours away from their home.

“There are a lot of games up north that they have come to. My dad is always wearing the shirt and everything. Wherever I go, they’re always keen supporters and they love it.

“The fans have just been great with me, I love playing in front of them. Days like the Plymouth win and Cardiff will stay with me, the noise they were making behind the goal was incredible. They really are our 12th player.”

If Rushworth continues to improve and perform to a high level, unlike those customers back in the ski slope café, the goalkeeper will have no complaints about the service he’s providing.